Christopher Toddy, AIA is the President of Christopher @ Architects LLC in Cleveland. Chris is an AIA, 2030, and USGBC speaker on Leadership Development, Architects’ Lien Rights, and Sustainability.

Chris is a member of the AIA national Small Firm Exchange committee, the First Vice President of AIA Cleveland, and the Vice Chair of the Cleveland 2030 District. As an AIA Ohio board member, he helped to organize Ohio’s 2009 Habitat for Humanity Green House Competition.

Continuing Education:

Working Towards Lien Rights

for Ohio Architects

Course Description:

Are you having difficulty collecting your fees? We’d like to know.

Architects could consider their lien rights when looking for options to collect earned fees. In all but one state, architects can secure payment on their design contracts by attaching them to the property itself. They are utilizing the legal concept that those who add value to the site deserve to be paid. In Ohio, however, the state legislature has determined that architects and their consultants do not add value to the site. The AIA Ohio Lien Rights Task Force is currently considering options to possibly re-gain these rights for Ohio architects.

Attend and let us know if lien rights are important to you.

Learning Objectives:

To understand the concept of lien rights – to secure payment of your contract with the assets of the land – as a powerful business tool.

To understand the general procedure for implementing lien rights: yours and your contractors; an overview to help you talk to your attorney.

To understand why Architects in Ohio do not currently have lien rights, and why this is an unusual problem that needs to be addressed.

To understand what AIA Ohio has done and is now reviewing regarding the recovery of these lien rights for Architects.